Croydon woman wants safety measures put in place at 'dangerous' junction

Katy Bowyer, of Lincoln Road, drives through the junction at Sunny Bank and Penge Road on a daily basis, and said something must be done to allow people to cross the road safely, or she fears someone may soon be seriously injured.

"It's a dangerous junction for both pedestrians and car users and I hate using it but I don't really have another option," she said.

"I watch parents with children trying to cross, teenagers 'wired in' to their phones, the elderly and those in mobility scooters.

"They all have that 'OMG' look about them when they go to cross."

She said the zebra crossing that currently sits along Penge Road doesn't five those crossing Sunny Bank a proper option.

"I think there needs to be something to allow pedestrians to cross the road safely and/or a change to the layout of that junction and the one with Sunny Bank and Manor Road, which is 90 degrees and very difficult to cross," Ms Bowyer said.

"The junction with Penge Road is busy all the time.

"If you drive from Portland Road up through South Norwood, you are not able to turn right at the main Norwood High Street into Penge Road, you have to turn at the junction before, Manor Road, which then becomes Sunny Bank.

"So the majority of traffic coming from Sunny Bank want to turn right at this junction. It's very difficult to get out, so cars and HGVs don't stop to allow pedestrians to cross.

"Drivers are too busy trying to go right across a main road to look out for pedestrians."

However a spokesman for Croydon Council said it wasn't as simple as putting in a new zebra crossing.

"The council has a limited budget for new pedestrian crossings, and priority goes to the locations across the borough that need it most each year," he said.

"Highways officers have no particular safety issues about these junctions, but if a resident wishes to request a crossing, they should contact the council direct and it will go onto a waiting list for consideration.”